The 2025 movie release, Christy, had Sydney Sweeney going full Rocky in her portrayal of the celebrated boxer, Christy Martin. While many shared praises of the new biopic, others weren’t exactly standing in the ring for it. After Christy received mixed reviews, Sweeney got real about its reception.
Some critics who saw Christy certainly felt that Sydney Sweeney gave a “knockout” performance worthy of awards recognition. However, many felt the script was delivering a by-the-book sports underdog story with its dramatic plot filled with “Lifetime movie clichés.” While speaking with THR, the actress shared her take on the boxing biopic’s mixed reviews, and she got really honest about it, saying:
I put a lot of love and hard work into this, so it feels good that people are recognizing that and that the story is resonating with people. But for me, I’ve always said Christy’s opinion is the only one that matters to me. I did this for her, and she loves it, so I’m good.
Christy Martin has also shown a lot of love back for Sydney Sweeney. After Ruby Rose shocked the internet by saying the Christy lead “ruined” the movie by not being an LGBTQ+ actress like the character she portrayed, the real Christy Martin didn’t hold back as she responded to the criticism. The former professional boxer went on to say Sweeney “worked her ass off” telling her story and called her an “ally.” So, it's been made abundantly clear that the woman who inspired this movie loves it and the star of it a lot.
There’s no denying that the Immaculate actress put in dedication to bring Christy Martin’s story to life. Sweeney admitted she’d “try to lose [herself] completely” in the real-life character so that audiences only saw the 2009 super welterweight titled boxer on screen.
With Christy Martin being there on set, the Washington native said she liked that she watched over her in case she needed some insight into her thoughts and opinions whenever they were needed. Almost like a guardian angel, in a way. Plus, the major gains to play the ‘90s fighter, like putting on 35 pounds and three and a half months of training, sounded like no cakewalk. Those are all qualities of a dedicated star who takes her craft seriously.
While Christy was originally viewed as a flop for only making $2 million from a reported $15 million budget, that’s actually not the case. Because the sports film had a small budget to begin with, Christy didn’t need huge box office numbers to be considered a success. There are always streaming sales and physical media sales that can help it make more money.
Even if the reviews were mixed, Rotten Tomatoes revealed the movie’s very impressive numbers. Critics gave Christy a fresh score of 66%, but audiences awarded it a high score of 96%. Clearly, that means the boxing flick resonated with a lot of fans, which was exactly what Sweeney and Christy Martin wanted. With the depicted themes of a woman making it into a male-dominated sport and raising awareness of domestic violence, I’d say mission accomplished.
Christy’s lead clearly isn’t affected by the mixed reviews of her new movie. After all, she knows about all of the hard work she put into it and that the real Christy Martin was all for it. Despite what the critics say, that still sounds like a win to me.
The sports-drama flick is available to rent on multiple digital streaming platforms.
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